Jim Goshorn: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: GurneeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Gurnee Park Board (4-year Terms)Age: 57Family: Married, two childrenOccupation: Manager, AbbVieEducation: BS Education - Indiana Univ of Pennsylvania Masters in Education - Indiana Univ of PennsylvaniaCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Commissioner - Gurnee Park DistrictHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Ensure the ongoing fiscal strength of Gurnee Park District while maintaining the high level of Parks, Facility and Program offerings that enhance the quality of life in our District.Key Issue 2 Candidate did not respond.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Every year, our budgeting process looks at three categories of service: highly subsidized, partially subsidized, no subsidy. The highly subsidized category includes our parks and playgrounds and athletic fields which are available for resident use under our charter. The programs include summer concerts, special events, Farmers' Market, Senior and Teen programs and a number of other events that promote healthy lifestyles and community involvement. Our elective, recreational programs are self funded. As part of the yearly budget process, we evaluate the categories of service to ensure participation merits the continuation of programs and services and that our budget remains balanced to address the scope of programs made available to our constituents.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.The Park District is always evaluating opportunities to acquire land that can supplement our existing system and support our mission of Promoting Fun and Preserving Nature. Acquisition of new, as well as annual evaluation of appropriate utilization of existing land and facilities, are aligned to a key initiative of our citizen driven 2012-2015 Strategic Plan.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?I am particularly proud of the breadth of recreational opportunities we provide to our constituents. However, recreational needs and interests evolve as the demographics of our community evolve. Our staff are continually evaluating the programs and facilities we provide in order to support these evolving needs to promote active recreation opportunities from youth through adult. Our subsidized and self-funding programs are evaluated based on participation and our ability to offer them within our balanced budget.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?As a Commissioner, I have stressed the need for inter-governmental cooperation and am pleased at the high level of cooperation and shared use of facilities that exist within our community. I believe there may be additional synergies that can be supported between agencies to ensure that ongoing costs are managed. Consolidated printing and distribution of agency newsletters is one such opportunity we can explore further. We are seeing a reduced reliance on printed material in GPD as we rely more and more on electronic forms of communication.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.Candidate did not respond.